“I can’t believe you canceled our cruise for this.” Jodi ducked her head to stare out of the tiny rental vehicle’s windshield from the passenger’s seat.
Rain pounded against the roof and the pavement of the narrow, winding roadway.
“Oh, come on,” Kelly said, scoffing as she navigated around a cow standing on the road, “this is the chance of a lifetime!”
“Mmm, yeah.”
Kelly wrinkled her nose. “It is.”
“Right. At this very moment, I could be lounging by the pool with a cocktail in my hand with one of those tiny umbrellas in it. It would be warm and sunny. And we’d have nothing to do but sail away into the sparkling waters and relax.”
“We can take a cruise anytime! It’s not every day you get invited to a masquerade ball at a real English manor.” Kelly beamed at the opportunity.
“Yeah, how did that happen anyway?”
Kelly swerved around a rain-filled pothole and shrugged. “Lucky, I guess.”
Jodi shot her a sideways glance. “What’s what supposed to mean?”
“I…won a contest.” Kelly kept her eyes glued to the road as the rolling green pastures on either side whizzed by them.
“What? Are you serious? We’re stuck in the rain-soaked English countryside because you entered some stupid contest?”
“Well, I didn’t think I was going to win. But I’m thrilled I did! I can’t believe we won an all-expenses paid trip to this masquerade ball. An entire weekend at a real English country manor.”
